Helping divers make informed choices about training, skills, safety, and gear.

Scuba Diving Courses and Skills

Whether you are building on your Open Water certification or refining technique after dozens of dives, this hub is your home base for training and skill development. Learn how to choose the right courses, plan dives, and master control, teamwork, and safety for more confident, enjoyable dives.

Where to Start

Use these guides to map your next steps. Compare common training paths, judge which certs are worth your time, and strengthen the core skills that make every dive safer and smoother.

Courses, Specialties, and Skill Hubs

Nitrox cylinder with oxygen label and MOD marking

Certifications Worth It?

Explore which scuba certifications are truly worth pursuing, from practical options like Nitrox and Rescue to essential safety training in CPR and oxygen use.

Divers reviewing a dive plan beside a cenote

Dive Planning

Learn the essentials of dive planning, from gas calculations and nitrox limits to pre dive routines that keep you safe and prepared underwater.

Diver at the surface near a boat preparing to descend

Core Diving Skills

Build a solid foundation with core skills: gear setup, hand signals, buoyancy and weighting, trim, controlled descents, safety stops, mask clearing, free flow response, and sharing air.

Diver in a drysuit preparing to descend at the surface

Entry & Exit Skills

Master the essential entry and exit skills that keep every dive safe and controlled, from giant strides and shore entries to exiting the water.

Scuba tanks secured on a boat rack ready for a dive

Abovewater Skills

Build confidence with practical surface techniques, including shore vs boat diving, efficient surface swimming, and signaling for safety.

Diver deploying a DSMB from depth with a reel

Underwater Skills

Develop the underwater skills that set confident divers apart, from hovering and advanced finning to buddy positioning and safe SMB deployment.

Two buddy divers ascending together from a dive

Buddy Skills

Strengthen your teamwork with practical buddy skills, from clear role assignment and positioning to mentoring new divers and handling challenging situations.

Divers holding position during a safety stop

Teamwork Skills

Build effective team diving habits with skills that improve awareness, shared responsibility, and coordinated ascents from start to finish.

Poster that reads Hope Is Not A Good Plan

Dive Culture

Explore the unspoken side of scuba diving, from culture and community to jargon, buddy dynamics, ethics, and the habits that shape how divers really think and behave.


Written by Tyler Allison • Last updated September 1, 2025

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